By: T.J. Hug
The Village Reporter
While it may have been a rough year for the Lady Panthers, their efforts were still recognized by their coach.
Head Coach Laurin Waidelich never gave up on her girls, and she let them know just how highly she thought of them at the annual Stryker Softball Awards. Nominating six members of her team for the All-BBC team, she announced that one of them, Miranda Pegorch, had been elected to its second team. The other five, Katie Yoder, Sierra Walters, Emily Cadwell, Miranda Maynard, and Kaitlyn Wonders, all received an Honorable Mention from the league.
Yoder, the lone senior on the squad, also earned the title of BBC Scholar Athlete. The maturity required to balance the roles of student and athlete served her well as a leader on the team, which Coach Waidelich observed by giving her the Captain’s Award.
Sophomore pitcher Miranda Maynard was handed the Most Valuable Player distinction. It was not only her hard work and determination that earned her the award, but also her ability to learn and adapt with the exit of their pitching coach prior to the beginning of the season.
“Coming into the season, I didn’t know a lot about the position,” admitted Waidelich. “We sort of learned about it together.”
Walters was able to edge out stiff competition late into the season to earn the Highest Batting Average Award for the Panther girls. Kaitlyn Wonders was given the Panther Award. Finally, to end the evening, Tricia Wolfrum beat out a number of her teammates to be awarded the title of Most Improved Player on the squad.
The future looks bright for the Lady Panthers. Many of their award winners were younger players, giving hope to the Stryker faithful that they’ll continue to develop next year. Waidelich also announced at the ceremony that nineteen girls had signed up to take part in Summer softball for her program.
With the numbers and the talent, there’s a lot to be excited about in Stryker.
T.J. Hug can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com.
